Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver Roundtable Billy Blue
Septuagenarian Doyle Lawson has actually lost count of how many albums he has released in his almost 60 year career. His latest, ROUNDTABLE, was released just after he announced his forthcoming retirement from the road, and it continues his consistent record of producing true bluegrass of the highest standard. The title of the album emphasises the equality gifted by him to his five band members, when it comes to both picking and singing. Although he is still possessed of an excellent vocal range, he has taken a slight step back and allowed the others to take their turns on lead vocals, while he himself contributes to the duo and trio harmony vocals that imbue every song. Lawson still, of course, plays lead mandolin, as well as playing various other stringed instruments here. The twin fiddles of Matt Flake and Stephen Burwell are a particularly striking trademark of the current Quicksilver line up.
From the very opening track, I’ll Take The Lonesome Every Time, with its familiar references to freight trains, whippoorwills, wind in the pines and heartache, you know what you are going to get on this album, and that’s no bad thing. What marks it out from many contemporaries is the high standard of the vocals and playing and the (mostly) excellent song choices. Bassist Jerry Cole takes the lead on that first track and indeed on five other songs. Cole’s smooth baritone (very reminiscent of Doc Watson) is outstanding also on Long Time Lonesome, and on another barnstorming heartache train song, Sad Attack, written by the banjo player, Eli Johnston: ‘I guess I better learn to be alone, I feel another sad attack comin’ on, I guess I better learn to be alone. It’s worse every time I hear the lonesome locomotive whistle moan’. Young Ben James (guitar) takes lead on four songs, all of which impress. He covers the Donna Ulisse penned heart breaking country number, You Ain’t Heard Lonesome Yet, (yes, there are three songs with Lonesome in the title on this album - a record?!), and he also shines on another slow burner, Every Now and Then (written by Glen Duncan). Fiddler Matt Flake gets to sing lead on the cover of a Steve Goodman number, Between The Lines, which is given a jaunty Western Swing treatment.
Doyle Lawson himself produced the album very slickly, right down to the photography and album design. Although he’s retiring from touring, he plans to continue to produce for other acts and has a final gospel album of his own in the works. The album closes with a superb 5-part a capella gospel number, A Little More Faith in Jesus. A minor quibble over a couple of ‘nostalgic’ song choices does not deter me from recommending this album highly.
Review by Eilís Boland
Sad Daddy Way Up in the Hills Self-Release
Written and recorded during times when live shows and touring were not an option, WAY UP IN THE HILLS, the third album from four-piece Sad Daddy, offers up fourteen songs which reflect on bygone times when life and survival were less complicated. The four members of Sad Daddy are Melissa Carper (vocals, upright bass, banjo), Joe Sundell (vocals, banjo, harmonica, didgeridoo, mouth horns), Brian Martin (vocals, guitar, harmonica, mouth horns, kazoo), and Rebecca Patek (vocals, fiddle, scatting). Each member is involved in other musical projects, Melissa Carper’s excellent 2021 album DAD’S COUNTRY GOLD featured in many ‘best of 2021’ listings, including our own. They have been performing their stylish take on old timey music since 2010 and this recording finds them on top of their game.
There is a ‘heading for the hills’ feel to the material, suggesting that the party favoured hibernation until the world returned to some degree of normality. The songs were written, arranged and recorded at Martin’s cabin, nestled in the Ozark foothills in Greers Ferry, Arkansas. No doubt the stunning environment of woods and lake galvanised many of the song titles (Cold Rain, Up In The Hills, Hanging Them Clothes, Wild Road), resulting in an ageless recording.
Glorious harmonies, slick banjo picking and fiddle, the classic jazz fused lead vocals from Carper, and not least some great songs, all combine in the ultimate ‘back to the country’ album. They appropriately open and bookend the album with Arkansas Bound, the former featuring harmony vocals, the latter an instrumental, in jug band style. The chorus lyrics (‘And I don’t miss that ol’ life I was livin’ back in the city, runnin’ round, around in circles just to pay my bills. Yes, now I’m free up in these hills’) on the album’s title track wholeheartedly sums up the project and the band’s motivation.
You’re well advised to lose yourself for a brief period and indulge in this meticulously executed and absorbing suite of songs.
Review by Declan Culliton
Gregory Dwane Self-Titled Self-Release
With so much music coming our way in 2021 it was inevitable that, despite our best efforts, there were always going to be a number of albums that we enjoyed but did not get around to reviewing. We’ve carried a number of them into the New Year, including this stellar album courtesy of Gregory Dwane.
Dwane may be a new name to readers, but there is every likelihood that many would have enjoyed music and shows by a number of artists that employed him in different roles over the years. His career has included a stint as keyboard tech with Alanis Morrisette, Macy Grey, and Dave Navarro, writing music jingles for a decade and a half, and a producer of albums by Amy Ray and Indigo Girls. Industry burnout eventually caught up with him, resulting in him abandoning his career in music and substituting it by opening a fine art gallery in Brooklyn. However, with time on his hands during the pandemic, 2020 found him revisiting his music demos, some dating back twenty years and composing the eleven songs on this, his debut album. With titles such as Growing Up, Fragile Man and, It’s Fucked Up, the album chronicles his chaotic lifestyle and encounters with alcohol abuse, troubled relationships, therapy and fatherhood.
Like many of his musical peers, early involvement in punk bands directed him towards recording with both country and rock stylings, laced with bucket loads of attitude and no end of wit, no more so than on the heart-warming pure country opener Do You Really Want Me. He’s joined by Amy Ray on the rootsy Gone and Changed and the previously noted and pedal steel kissed It’s Fucked Up. He mixes driving melody with grungy energy on Gimme A Solution and takes the foot slightly off the gas on the unfeigned break-up tune When You Say California. The spiralling Don’t Change For Me sounds like it was borrowed from the Tom Petty songbook, before the album culminates with the possibly autobiographical Fragile Man.
Described by Dwane as ‘a culmination of years of therapy, sobriety and relationships, good and bad’, the album crosses genres from alt-country to sweet sounding rock, and packs a hefty punch. It’s one that certainly deserves to reach a wide audience, so do take the time to check it out. Satisfaction guaranteed.
Review by Declan Culliton
Anna Ash Sleeper Black Mesa
My introduction to the Los Angeles based artist Anna Ash came about via her 2017 single, a cover of Lucinda Williams’ Righteously. Whereas Ms. Williams’ delivery was by way of a passionate growl, Ash slowed things down, patiently purring her way through the three minutes plus of the song. That vocal discipline and chic coolness is her trademark and it was repeated all over her 2019 album L.A. FLAME. She has a lot to say, often hard hitting, brooding and dark, but always calmly and expressly articulated. SLEEPER follows a similar template, although somewhat more soulful and menacing.
In recent years the Americana genre has become a popular staging post for recordings that would have been simply marketed as ‘soul’ in former times. SLEEPER is a welcome addition to that subgenre, though to classify it simply as soul would be an injustice. It’s certainly soulful, but much more than that, in a similar vein to the output of the eloquent Canadian artist Frazey Ford. Notes that others would not dare to attempt are effortlessly reached by Ash on the title track and Dress Rehearsal. What The Light Can Do recalls Joni Mitchell, a gentle tingling piano and backing vocals around a tale that is both delightful and distressing. More upbeat and decidedly funky is the bittersweet Favorite Part and childhood memories, both unsettling and emotional, surface on Sgt.Pepper. She also raids the memory bank, both distant and closer to home, on the deeply evocative Fire Season
Difficult to shoehorn into any particular genre, SLEEPER is simply a gorgeous listen. It merits that listen in one sitting, gifting dreamlike songs with lyrics that often enhance the mystique within the songs. Recorded live to tape over two sessions in November 2020 and April 2021, Ash was joined in the studio by Solomon Dorsey (bass, strings), Julian Allen (drums), and Jason Abraham Roberts (guitars). Her vocals and the supporting arrangements by those players combine impeccably throughout, creating eleven thought provoking songs that are well worth your attention.
Review by Declan Culliton
Devin Hoff Voices From The Empty Moor (Songs Of Anne Briggs) Kill Rock Stars
SOLO BASS (2009), the debut album from American bass player and composer Devin Hoff, was heralded as one of her top five favourite albums of all time by Laurie Anderson, which goes a long way towards noting the regard Hoff is held in by his peers. His collaborations over the years have found him working with a diverse range of artists including Yoko Ono, Jim White, Sharon Van Etten, Julia Holter, and Shannon Lay.
His latest project follows a decade of research and concentrated study into the work of the hugely influential British folk singer Anne Briggs. Briggs may not have attained the level of commercial success of her fellow British folk artists Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Fairport Convention, Pentangle, Bert Jansch, and Maddy Prior, but her influence on these artists was immense. Very much a free spirit, in the mid- ‘60s she spent her summers in Ireland, often accompanied by Dublin folk singer Johnny Moynihan, travelling around the country by horse drawn cart to play in numerous pubs and impromptu sessions. The winter months found her returning to England to work the folk music circuit in various pubs and clubs, more often than not singing a capella.
VOICES FROM THE EMPTY MOOR is a celebration of Brigg’s musical legacy. It’s a nine-track collection of songs, with invited guests on a number of the tracks adding vocals to Hoff’s interpretations. The album also features a number of hauntingly atmospheric instrumentals. Julia Holter is the guest vocalist on the beautifully arranged Let No Man Steal Your Thyme. Whereas the original Briggs version was under the two-minute mark and sung a capella, this recreation, which runs for over six minutes, is awash with a quartet of double basses alongside Holter’s wistful vocals. Equally striking is Shannon Lay’s vocal interpretation of Living By The Water, which captures the mood and tenor of Briggs to perfection. The chamber music styled instrumentals work best on Hoff’s solo bass executions of She Moved Through The Fair and closing track The Lowlands.
Though often experimental in the extreme, Hoff has remained true to the dark and forbidding mood of the original songs. Without any degree of self-indulgence, his ambitious interpretations result in a most impressive exercise on all fronts.
Review by Declan Culliton
Lord Nelson Transmission Self-Release
Charlottesville, Virginia-based band Lord Nelson consists of brothers Henry and Calloway Jones, Kai Crowe Getty, Andrew Hollifield, Niko Cventanovich, Johnny Stubblefield, and Dave Pinto. TRANSMISSION is their third studio album and attempts to recreate the full-on energy and spirit of their live shows.
Subjects addressed on the album include tales of surviving on the edge, with drug busts, crashed trucks and relationships, homicide, and bank robberies all making appearances. Their core sound is rampant and uninhibited, landing somewhere between Tom Petty and Drive By Truckers.
Recorded two years ago in a converted barn over a few weeks, the intention was to showcase the material on the road on their planned tour. Covid-19 knocked that on the head, and instead they put additional touches to the material at numerous makeshift studios. The best moments on the album are the driving opener Tooth and Nail and bulletproof rockers Cheap Red Wine and Drag Me Down.
Laden with heavy grooves and occasional wicked humour TRANSMISSION captures the mood and sound of a band renowned for their lively stage shows. It’s a body of work that packs a heavy punch and is the ideal company for any road trip. Maximum volume recommended.
Review by Declan Culliton
David Gideon Lonesome Desert Strum Self Release
It is going to get the year off to a great start to hear such striking albums as this so early in the year. Of course, the signs were there from the beginning with the talents of such stalwarts as Dave Roe, Kenny Vaughan, Steve Hinson, Billy Contreras, Pete Abbott and Chris Scruggs on board. This is Gideon’s first full length album, a previous EP Drifter (2017) featured three of the titles found on this release, indicating that the genesis of this album and recordings were done over a period time. Given the ability of those involved and the fact that this is an independent release, this is entirely understandable. So it may have taken a little time to get here in this twelve track format, but truth is it doesn’t really matter, what counts is it’s here now and it is well worth the wait at any time.
Gideon’s attention gets the best out of everyone and the collective team deliver on all fronts. Throughout there are moments when the guitar and steel are captivating, while the fiddle adds its own dexterity over the solid rhythm section. Gideon is a great writer and his vocals are equally adept. The subjects of the material range from a love of country music in Ashes wherein the songster wants his ashes not to be buried but to be scattered in locations that meant something to him - like Nashville’s Studio A and Studio B and The Ryman Auditorium, “places that are dear to me.” It reveals Gideon’s love of traditional country and history. Naturally there is a more than a suggestion of love, loss and heartbreak here. My Birthday tells of being dumped on that particular occasion. It is delivered with a dash of mournful melancholy. Moving To The Country is a pacy description of “getting the hell out of Dodge.” Both Nice To Meet You and A Woman Like Her are full of fond memories alongside some more bitter feelings of soured relationships in the former and a mishandled mistake in the latter.
The title song has a little more atmosphere and is a thoughtful consideration of regret and reflection on what might have been, with Vaughan’s guitar underscoring that sentiment. Also full of an almost campfire folk like contemplation is Ballad Of Crazy Horse, which talks of the Native American’s legend and longevity. Things pick up again as we enter a honky tonk bar and encounter a woman whose footwear is just one of her attributes and attractions. The songs are penned by Gideon with a couple of co-writes, with all revealing a writer who understands who and what he is writing about, when it comes to old school country storytelling.
There isn’t a bad track here and those titles named are just to emphasise the variety of moods and meanings that Gideon touches on throughout the album. Doubtless it will be an album that I will return to throughout the year. One can only hope that this testament to his talents means that album number two won’t quite take as long to distill. The point is that it’s not that easy for an independent artist to get everything together in a way that might be possible with a signed artist. So one can only wish that LONESOME DESERT STRUM gets the attention it is worthy of, as many such albums can so easily be missed in such a cluttered communication process. So listen hard and you can hear that desert strum playing and know what good music is out there to be discovered and enjoyed.
Review by Stephen Rapid
The Delevantes A Thousand Turns Moonriver
Album three from the Delevante brothers arrives some 20 years after the release of their last album POSTCARDS ALONG THE WAY which was released on Capitol Nashville in 1997. Back then it looked like the duo were on their way to a solid future, but there was a fundamental shift at mainstream country music radio and it became so much harder for certain type of acts to get exposure to a wide audience.
Bob and Mike took the decision to pursue different careers and both were successful in the graphic design field, although Bob continued to release albums alongside working the graphic arts. Fans of the duo (and I count myself as one) will be delighted to know that in the intervening years they have not moved to heavy metal, hip hop, electronica or any other unexpected musical avenue but, in terms of sound, pick up pretty much where they left off. They put together a select team that includes their friend and former producer Garry Tallent who again joins them as co-producer. Tallent also brings his bass playing skills to the table and is joined by multi-instrumentalist Dave Coleman and drummer Bryan Owings as the main players for the album recordings.
Their sibling vocals were always an essential part of their sound alongside some concisely crafted songs built around melody and chorus. That skill has not been lost to them, as evidenced by the opening two tracks here All In All and Little By Little. Both show the essence of what was their signature sound, a nod to traditional country conciseness but filtered through a roots/rock edge. A sound that was quite prevalent back in the 90s and in 1995 gained its own chart from Gavin Americana. Back then it had, a little like alt-country, a specific style and sound which has now been dissipated to virtually encompass any sound made in America (and beyond).
That the Everly Brothers, The Byrds, R.E.M, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan are called to mind at times is not surprising, given that the brothers grew up at a time when these acts were primary sources for The Delevantes and many of their contemporaries
But the picks don’t end there, as repeated listens reveal that among the fourteen songs there are many that resonate. The intervening years may have had a direct bearing on the themes of the songs which on occasion, understandably, offer commentary on the political divides and problems that have emerged since the duo’s return to the fray. The Junkman perhaps is the most obvious: Noting that “the Junkman’s a liar / a con man / a fraudster / a cheat” and he’s “running the show. Sound like anyone you (we) might know?” Previous elements like love, attraction and loss are also presented in songs such as Dear Kate, Every Sunset and Light Of Your Eyes. There is also room for interpretation in the songs that allow them to be viewed from an individual perspective.
While losing none of their energy there is a maturity to the playing. As well as the players mentioned above, there are additional contributions from Jody Nardone on keyboards and sax and trumpet from John Painter. Bob Delevante takes the bulk of the writing credits, with brother Mike co-writing three of the songs. Mike also adds his signature Rickenbacker jangle and harmonies to an overall sound that has a timeless quality, demonstrating that they have not become an act focused on the past but one with an open future. Welcome back Delevantes and, hopefully, stick around. It’s going to be interesting, the next turn.
Review by Stephen Rapid
William Russell Wallace Confidence Man Beardog
This is my first encounter with the music of William Russell Wallace. He had a previously well received album DIRTY SOUL, but on the evidence here this new release is every bit as good. Although Americana seems to come up in media mentions, to my mind it is a little more on the roots/rock side of things - a little more Tav Falco than full on Tom Petty to these ears (though the latter was undoubtably an influence). As these tracks were cut over a period of time in a couple of different studios in Ohio and California, the personnel change to suit, but lead guitarist and pedal steel player Travis Talbert appears on the majority of the recordings. Also vocalist Amanda Addy is present on many of the tracks, and the vocals delivered by Addy and Brett Puryear (and others) are an important part of the overall sound. Wallace himself contributes acoustic guitar, bass, piano, organ and percussion, as well as his distinctive vocal presence.
The album closes with a nice relaxed soulful version of the Velvet Underground song I Found A Reason and there’s a version of Tom Petty’s No Second Thoughts that fits the overall scheme of things. But prior to that we delve into Wallace’s world of misfits, miscreants and misfortune. These strong songs are written by Wallace with a couple of co-writes included. The opening track Recklessly is a statement of intent about living up to the song’s title. Another track Mormon Cocaine was conceived during a car trip and written around the title. The video for the song is also worth checking out. The album title comes from the song Missoula (Confidence Man Blues) wherein the protagonist considers his journey in life “I was a confidence man / but I lost all control / I’ve gone a long distance / man, got a long way to go.” There’s no doubt that Wallace knows how to turn a phrase that has a poetic sense that is not always immediate, but conveys its meaning with some gravitas, as in this couplet from The Timing: “It makes me think on old ways / living out our time as thieves / Just like the old days / when our gods were more than ghosts.” Or the couple trying to find their place in the world and trying to rise above past mistakes in Roanoke (Resolution Blues): “Oh, but think on that hand to mouth existence and those happy payment plans / But forget about the other women; I’ll forget that other man.”
These words are naturally intertwined with the music and inseparable from them in terms of recording. Wallace has, with the revealing quality of repeated listening, recorded an album that reveals much in its melodic arrangements; one that uses many of the instruments to illuminate texture over the solid platform of the rhythm sections. Those songs mentioned above (and indeed others on the album) are all ones that reverberate and resonate and ask to be replayed numerous times, with no lack of enjoyment for that.
Wallace loved rock ’n’ roll growing up and soon gravitated to playing in bands and working as a touring bassist. He joined a band called The Wading Girl in Roanoke, Virginia playing indie rock fused with country and folk elements. However this life style led to a addiction with alcohol, something which he now has overcome. During this time he also worked on his writing and later teaching the subject. All these elements in his background, alongside the learning curve of playing cover songs in various bands, taught him about the structures in classic songwriting, something he has put to good effect on this collection of songs, all of which stand up on their own terms. CONFIDENCE MAN is work of an artist who should be confident in his achievement here.
Review by Stephen Rapid